On moving day, the only place rookies Scott Langley and Russell Henley moved was up, up and away.
They shattered the Sony Open in Hawaii scoring record, again, Saturday, slicing through a serene Waialae Country Club for the third straight round. Langley and Henley go into today’s final round three shots ahead of everybody at 17-under 193. That’s one better than the record John Huston set in ’98 on a par-72 Waialae layout.
Langley and Henley, both 23 and exceptionally amiable through this shockingly quick march to success, concede this is not what they expected.
"A month ago I was at Q-School orientation, and Scott just got done with Q-School and I gave him a ride to the airport," recalled Henley, who birdied the last hole to shoot a 3-under 67 and catch a guy he has known since junior golf. "We had lunch and I was telling him how awesome it was I was on the PGA Tour. This is kind of like a dream. It’s weird."
What’s weirder is that the Web.com graduate has not had a bogey since the 11th hole of the tournament, and that was his only one. He set a record for best 36-hole score here Friday at 14-under 126.
Langley fired a 65 with two bogeys Saturday to catch him. He started the tournament with a 62, tying the record for lowest opening round.
This is an event that dates back to 1965. Even Langley called it "surreal."
"I’m trying to program my mind where this is my reality," said the 2010 NCAA champ. "You know, I feel really good about my game. I expect good things to happen, and I’ve worked really hard. When I get up on the tee, I feel pretty confident in my golf swing and confident that I know where the ball is going to go."
So does Henley, who has shot 70 or better in each of his last 15 professional rounds. His worst finish in his last four starts on the Web.com Tour last year was sixth and he won two of those events in playoffs.
Langley, the first First Tee participant to get his tour card, earned it at Q-School. The two graduated in 2011 and shared low-amateur honors at the U.S. Open a year earlier, tying for 16th. They bonded that week on the long plane ride to Northern Ireland for an international competition.
They will play together for the fourth day in row in the final round. Their third is Tim Clark, who is 14 years older and three shots back after a 66 in his 244th tour start.
Scott Gardiner — another rookie in his first tour event — shares fourth with Charles Howell III, a perpetual top-five finisher here still looking for his first win. Howell added to his astounding numbers at Waialae on Saturday with a 67, making him 49 under in 19 weekend rounds. He was runner-up here last year, for the second time.
Howell, 33, is already starting to call himself "the old man." The "kids" are on a mission to become the first rookie in 12 years to win their tour debut (Garrett Willis was the last). This is not your father’s Hawaiian Open.
"It’s a fun dynamic competing against Russell because we’re such good friends," Langley said. "We’ve known each other for so long. We’re pretty much in the same situation. He came off the Web.com Tour, I came out of Q-School. This is our first start as tour members.
"We kind of have that common bond out there, and you can see it, I think, when you see both of us play. We’re having fun, we’re smiling, we’re happy to be here. So I think that helps us play good. We’re definitely just excited about the opportunity and just cherishing it."
Three golfers 23 and under won on tour last year, including Rickie Fowler, who is Langley’s roommate in Florida. These guys are not only good, they are helping each other get better.
"I think: Win this tournament or not, it’s already been a very successful week," Henley said. "Obviously, I’ve played great golf, and I feel like I can compete out here. And I think when somebody gets confidence like that, or at least when I get confidence like that, then I know I can compete. It lets me get out of my way a little bit.
"It’s a long year. Whatever happens tomorrow is going to happen, and I’m going to learn from it and take it away as a positive no matter what because I’ve been playing some great golf, and I can only learn and get better after this tournament."
